Executive Director of Resources: Leigh Whitehouse
Our services:
- Finance Insights and Performance
- Legal Services
- Democratic Services
- Business Services
- IT and Digital
- Internal Audit
- Procurement and Commissioning
- Land and Property Services
- Corporate Strategy and Policy
- Design and Transformation
- People and Change
Finance
The Finance Service provides financial information, analysis and support to committees, members, Heads of Service and service budget holders.
The main functions are to:
- lead and co-ordinate the council's annual budget setting and in year monitoring arrangements
- manage the council's cashflow and treasury management
- ensure the highest standards of responsible financial management across the council
- produce all external financial reporting on county council activities
- set the financial framework for the council, covering the regulations, instructions and guidance on all financial activities
The spending priorities of the council are contained within our Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP).
Legal Services
Director of Law and Governance – Paul Evans
We provide legal advice focused on supporting front line services and protecting the council's reputation and resources. The service is grouped around council services/areas of expertise and consists of the following teams:
- Corporate Group - providing advice and assistance on procurement, property, highways, planning and litigation matters.
- Children, Adult and Education Group - providing advice and representation in relation to child care, adult social care and education matters, including assistance for schools.
- Legal Support Team - providing administrative and business support to the rest of the service.
The Monitoring Officer role
Paul Evans has been appointed by the council as Monitoring Officer to ensure the sound governance and lawfulness of all Council decision making. He is supported in that role by all staff in Legal and Democratic Services. Any complaint about a Surrey County Council member or co-opted member is referred to the Monitoring Officer.
Democratic Services
We provide excellent support in order to ensure that the senior leaders of the organisation are assisted and enabled to carry out their responsibilities efficiently and effectively. Ensuring the decision making processes, governance and scrutiny functions of the Council are efficient and effective, we enable the business of the Council to be carried out in a transparent and accountable manner.
We support and contribute to the delivery of the Council's strategic goals and we drive and support service transformation and organisational change. Our Civic Support Team, Information Governance Team and School Appeals Service deliver professional support to the wider community in Surrey.
Email us at: democraticservices@surreycc.gov.uk
- Leadership and Member Support - Executive, Personal and Leadership Assistant support to the Leader, Chief Executive and Cabinet, and business support to all county councillors.
- Cabinet and Committees - Our purpose is to support the Council's Cabinet, Regulatory Committees and Scrutiny Boards and their Members, so that decision-making and business management processes operate openly, efficiently and effectively within the terms of the Constitution, and comply with statutory requirements and best practice standards. The Council has a number of decision making committees including Cabinet, County Council and several Regulatory Committees. These committees are held to account by the Council's six Scrutiny Boards.
- School Appeals - The School Appeals Service organises admission appeals and exclusion reviews for all community and voluntary controlled schools within Surrey and schools that make their own admission arrangements.
- Civic Support - Providing support to the Chairman, Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff; co-ordinating briefings and organising events, including all royal visits within the County.
- Information Governance - Promoting the Council's information governance framework, ensuring that the authority complies with its statutory obligations in relation to both Data Protection and Freedom of Information.
IT & Digital
We are committed to driving innovation in technology to ensure residents receive the very best services from our staff. Our Information Management and Technology service supports the core infrastructure of the organisation, supports our hardware, drives innovation in applications and flexible working, and ensures the organisation remains secure and resilient.
Procurement and Commissioning
We work alongside services providing commercial insight, expertise and advice, from a contract renegotiation, a tender process, or supporting a service redesign.
